Conversion process



Jan. y4; 1927. y

' H. H. ARMSTRONG CONVERS I-ON PROCESS 'Filed July 9. 192:5

Y ducing a series ot' hydrocarbons.

Y or they may be substances which are liquidn Patented Jan.v 4, 1927.

`UNITED STATE HRBY H.

ARMSTRONG, or Los ANGELES, cALn'onNrA.

CONVERSION .rnocriss Application iled July` 9, 1923. Serial No. 650,842.

invention relates to the art of prodefinite hydrocarbon from a mixed There is at the present time a large demand throughout the World for certain very definite hydrocarbon products, notably motor fuels. oils, as produced in nature consist of a large number of hydrocarbons, s ome of which are lighter than motor fuel and some of which are heavier thanmotor fuel. The lighter hydrocarbons may be substances normally.

in gaseous form, as, for example, methane,

under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure but Which are so volatile that they readily pass into a vapor forni such as butane and pentane;y or they may be mixtures of these gaseous and liquid substances. My invention relates to aprocess of produc ing certain intermediate hydrocarbons, such, for example, as motor fuel, lighter and heavier hydrocarbons.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a process by which both the lighter and the heavier hydrocarbons may be used in the manufacture of motor fuel or some other definite hydrocarbon. following specification' the application of the process to the manufacture of motorfuel will be described Without the intention of limiting the invention to this particular application, however. j

Further objects and advantagesl `Will be madeevident hereinafter.

vReferring to the drawingwhich is for illustrative purposes only,

cases used to draw the vapors Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section,

showing in diagrammatical form one embodiment of an apparatus suited to carry on my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section Fig. 3 is a section through an eNpander. through an exploder.

In the form of the invention shown, I pro-- vide a reaction chamber 11, which in the form shown is made up of a continuous pipe. The vapors of aheavy hydrocarbon are supplied to the reaction chamber 11- through a pipe 12 from an exploder. This heavy hydrocarbon, hereinafter sometimes referred to-as oil, maybe delivered through a pipe' 14 from a pump 15 linto the exploder 13, and steam may also be supplied to the exploder 13 .through a 'pi pe 16. Oil vapors are taken from theA reaction chamber 11 -through a pipe 17 a pump 18 being in some from the re- Petroleum from these In the,

are removed through a Athe pipe 14 tothe exploder expansion of the oil takes action chamber 11V and thus maintain a parti-al vacuum therein; The light hydrocarbon, which may be natural gas or some substance which is of higher Baume gravity and which is more volatile than the desired. product, such as butan'e, propane `(all of these substances being hereinafter called gas), is delivered through a gas pump 20 and a pipe 21 into a gas heater 22, in which thel gas is heated to its decomposition temperature, Tater is delivered through a Water pump 23 and a pipe 24 int a Water heater 25, in which thewater is preferably converted into steam. The steam is dee livered through a pipe 27, and' the gas through pipe 26 to'an exploder 28 like exploder 13, into a superheater 40 from which it passes to pipes 29 and 30. From the pipes 29 and 30 the mixture of steam and gas is delivered through pipes 31l into expanders 32. The pipes 3]. extend into the expanders 32 and terminate in constricted orifices 33 therein, which path of the oil vapor passing through the reaction. chamber 11. The combined products produced in the reaction chamber are drawn by the pump 18 through a pipe 35 through the condenser. 19, from which gas is removed through pipe 42.

The method of operation of the invention when operating to producea motor fuel is as follows:

Oil, preferably heated above its decomposition temperature and held under a sufficient pressure by the pump 15 to prevent vaporization thereof, is delivered through 13,` which is provided with (a small orice 45 vthrough which the oil is violently projected and in which the pressure is released; This sudden lace in company with steam or superheate water delivered through the pipe 16. The sudden expansion of the eiland Water produces a very intimate` mixture of oil and water in a vapor or mist form. This -vapor vor mist may be at a temperature close to the cracking temperature 'of `the oil, that is to say the temperature at which molecular decomposition starts. This vvapor is delivered by the pipe 12 to there-action vchamber 11 and passes through the pipes thereof in4 the direction shown bythe arrows. through the pipe 2 1 into the gas heater 22, wherein it may be heated and afterward ina pipe 41 and condensates The gas is delivered or ethane project into the Ajected into the reaction chamber 11 through the exploders 32, or the gas may be injected with the water or steam into the exploder 28 and raised to its decomposition tempera- `ture by the use of the superheater 40.

- The decomposition temperature of heavy oil may be taken, for example, as 700 F., theI oil vapor delivered throughthe pipe 12 being at or somewhat below this temperature. It is necessary to heatfthe gas to a much higher temperature, butane, for example,

perature.

condenser 19 are separated into gas which is' directed that thev tend to mix the nascentV hydrocarbons delivered by the orifices 33 with the hydrocarbon vapors already present in the reaction chamber 11. The introduction of these high temperature nascent hydrocarbon products into the reaction e .chamber induces a combination between the hot products derived from the light hydrocarbons so introduced and the vapors from the exploder 13 which are already heated to or near the correct cracking temperature. The result is that the-heavy hydrocarbons are cracked by the hot products injected therein and combine therewith. The combined intermediateproduct, if the apparatus is properly regulated, may consist largely of 'motor fuel or any other desired product which is intermediate betwen the light and lheavy hydrocarbons used. The reaction chamber 11 and other parts are preferably heat insulated,fas the introductionof the highly heated light hydrocarbon products is suflicient to maintain the interior of the reaction chamber at the proper cracking tem- The products delivered to the delivered through the pipe 41 and into condensates which are delivered through the pipe 42. ese oondensates contain water which may be separated from the other condensates by any well known means. A considerable portion of the lcondensates, ,however, are the desired intermediate Ahydrocarbon, or. in the case being considered-- motor fuel.

Obviously the process can be suppliedto the production ot' other intermediates than motor fuel, the substance produced being dependent upon the raw materials used and the temperatures maintained. For example,

'if the temperature inthe exploderl is intained at a hotter tempera-ture, a productpropane and butane a'nd are now generallyv allowed to escape into the air since they are too volatile to remain in the gasoline` although isolated therewith. PropaneA and butane are heavy gases, being one and one-- half and twice the specific gravity of air respectively. By using the heavy gases in my process in combination with heavier oils, I am able to produce amotor fuel which is intermediate, as to volatility and specific gravity. between the heavy gas and heavier oils used and which is commercially of great value.

I am not sure as to the principle upon which my invention operates but apparently, since I produce substantially no carbon, it is not a true crackingprocess but merely a conversion process by whichl the hydrocarbons of one or more `series are converted into otherV hydrocarbons which are physica'lly different but perhaps not chemically so. Whatever the principle, however, the apparatus shown, if operated as described, will produce motor fuels from gas and oil. these motor fuels -being of higher Baume. gra/ity and of higher volatility than the oil use It is, of course, understood `that the apparatus is equipped with gauges and thermom- .creased and the reaction chamber is main- -more volatile and of higher Baume gravity 4 lOl) eters, not shown, so that conditions can be accurately governed. It is also obvious that Ain any case the exact temperatures and pressuresrequired to produce any desired product from any of the many available. combinations of oil and gas must, and can be, readily determined by trial by any one skilled in nthe art, these given above beingmerely for ilustrativa u1-poses. The scope of my invention shouldz therefore, be-'determined wholly by the annexed claims.

I claim as my invention.

Y 1. A process of converting heavy hydrocarbon oils which comprises: heating said heavy hydrocarbons to a temperature slightly below their cracking temperature; passing the vapors of said heavy hydrocarbons together with Vwater vapor into a reaction chamber in which a partial vacuum is maintained; heating light hydrocarbons to ateniperature in excess of the cracking temperature of said heavy hydrocarbons; andV passing said heated light hydrocarbons into said reaction chamber in -such quantities maintain the temperature y l said reaction chamber in such -malntain the temperature of said reaction manner toatomize said heavyv as to maintain the temperature of said reaction chamber at the cracking temperatureof said heavy hydrocarbons.

2. A process for converting heavy hydro-v carbon oils, Which comprises: heating said heavy hydrocarbons to a temperature a proaching the cracking temperature thereo heating a light hydrocarbon to substantially the cracking temperature of. ysaid hjeavy hydrocarbons; expanding said heated heavy hydrocarbons into a reaction chamber in a manner to atomize said heavy hydrocarbons; and expanding said heated light hydrocarbon into the atomized heavy hydrocarbons in quantities as to chamber at the cracking temperature of said heavy hydrocarbons. f

3. A process for converting heavy hydrocarbon oils, which comprises: 4heating saidleavy hydrocarbons to a temperature approaching the cracking temperature thereof; heatingv a light hydrocarbon to substantially the lcracking temperature of said heavy v hydrocarbons; expanding said heated heavy hydrocarbons into a reaction chamber in the presence of steam in a manner to atomize said heavy 'h drocarbons; and -expanding said heated iighthydrocarbon into the atomized heavy hydrocarbons in said re-` action chamber in such quantities as to -of 'said lreaction chamber at the cracking temperature of said heavy hydrocarbons.

4.- A process for converting heavy hydrocarbon oils, which comprises: heating said heavy-hydrocarbons under pressure, to 'a temperature approaching the `cracking temperature thereof; heating. a lightfhydrocarbon under pressure to substantially the cracking temperature of said heavy hydrocarbons; expanding' said heated heavy'hyreaction chamber in a` droca'rbons into, a

hydrocarbons; said reaction chamber being maintained fat a relatively low pressure; and `expanding4 .perature thereo pressure to substantially thedrocarbons 'V26 day of Julia-1923.v

said heated lightl 'hydrocarbon into the:

atomized heavy hydrocarbonsin saidreaction chamber in such uantities as to main#- ta'in the temperature o said reaction chamber at the cracking temperature of said-' heavy hydrocarbons.- a `5. A process Yfor converting heavy hydro-AA carbon oils, which comprises: heating said ,u

heavy hydrocarbons under pressure tol temperature vapproaching the cracking tem-4 heating a light hydrocarbon under cracking temperature of saidheavy hydrocarbons; expanding said heated heavy hy drocarbons into a reaction chamber =in V an manner toatomize said heavy hydrocarbons,

said reaction chamber being maintained at" a partial vacuum; and expanding said heated light hydrocarbon into the atomized'heavy hydrocarbons 'in said reaction chamber insuch quantities as to maintain thetemperature of said reaction chamber at the cracking temperature of said heavy hydrocarbons.

6. A process for converting heavy hydro-- carbon oils,'which conprises: heatingsaid heavy hydrocarbons un er pressure to a temperature approaching the cracking tem rature thereof; under pressure to substantially the cracking eratureof said heavy hydrocarbons; eX-

heating a light hydrocarl n texp pl ing said heated heavy hydrocarbons into a reaction chamber in a manner to atomize said heavy hydrocarbons, said reaction chaxmv ber being'maintained at a partial vacuum; and exploding said heated light hydrocarbon with-superheated steam intQ'the atomi'zed heavy hydrocarbons .in said reaction'cha-mber 1n such quantities as tof-maintain the temperature of said reaction chamber at the 'cracking temperature of said vheavy hy- Inn testimony v whereof, I set my hand at Los Angeles,

friY anemona-j i have hereunto California, this 

